Face masks and respirators are worn by medical and industrial workers to prevent inhaling and exhaling harmful air borne substances, such as, paints, solvents, dust particles, toxic fumes, smoke, bacteria and fungal spores. They are also worn to prevent spread of colds and air borne infections by covering the nose and mouth. They include filter elements, such as cotton gauze, fiberglass and fibrous paper filters that allow air to pass freely but prevent undesirable substances from passing through and prevent the spread of harmful bacteria at locations such as operating rooms. They also prevent individuals with diseases from infecting others.
Many include a thin metal band, which is shaped by a user to conform to the shape of the user's face. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,578,007, 2,752,916, 3,220,409, 3,971,369, 4,796,621, 5,803,075, and 5,561,863 are exemplary of respirators and masks in the prior art.
One shortcoming of current respirators and face masks is that they restrict the flow of air through mouths and noses because of inhaling and the pressure of respirators and masks against the mouth and nose. This can cause respiratory discomfort, particularly in persons with medical conditions such as asthma, heart and lung ailments as well as healthy individuals under stress, in elevated temperatures and congested conditions, especially during prolonged surgery in operating rooms.
Nasal dilators have been developed to prevent nasal passages from contracting because the alae of the nose draw in during breathing, thereby reducing the amount of air entering a nose. The principle of these dilators is to attach resilient members at the sides of noses, which tend to open and spread nose tissues. By way of example, flat resilient bands are used which take on arcuate shapes when adhesively applied to sides of noses, thereby tending to restore themselves to initial shapes and preventing narrowing of nares. Although these dilators are intended to prevent nasal passage contractions, they are not intended to open nasal passages beyond their normal conditions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,075 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,456 show masks with nasal dilators that pull on soft tissue at the sides of a nose to prevent the alae from contracting while inhaling.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,173, which is incorporated herein by reference, a noseform is disclosed which shortens and opens an airway by sliding the dorsal and lateral nasal skin upward to shorten and open nasal passages. The noseform of my U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,173 uses an entirely different principle than any other dilators.